Meinl Percussion 14" Frame Drum, Extra Deep Shell Irish Bodhran-NOT MADE IN CHINA-Goat Skin Head, Brown Burl, 2-YEAR WARRANTY, (FD14IBO)

I am just learning the bodhran. This one seems a good fit for me and am loving how it sounds. I have a 16” bodhran by another maker as well. Being a short in stature female, this Meinl is the right size for me and stays closer to be in tune than my other one which can be a little fussy.

I bought this as a present for my wife to play in our Irish music sessions. She is very happy with it. It has a really nice tone and is well made. It has a synthetic head rather than the traditional goat skin head, but the tone of the synthetic head is very nice.

I would rate this high for being a "polite" group session bodhran. It looks nice and has a "tight" factory type construction. But I think many people will have the urge to deepen the sound to get some real bass sound out of it. I would caution people about dampening the drum head more than lightly as too much dampening can lead to weakening the drum head leading to holes and cuts in the head. That might mean having to buy and remount a new head. Keeping this bodhran in a cool place between use is a safer way to get a lower tone. If you wish to dampen the head, do it to the backside of the drum head inside the drum with a lightly dampened wash cloth. The 14 inch diameter works fine with the modern top down type playing while holding the tipper somewhat like a pencil or pen. If you are playing the old style "triplets" with both ends of the tipper 14 inches is a little tight. Everyone needs to be careful with the typical wood tippers or the type of tipper made from bunches of wood dowels as they can damage the taping around the drum head. I have used foam rubber pencil grips whole or cut in half on the end of tippers for eliminating damage to the tape and achieving more of a musical note being played than just percussion. You can use your non tipper hand on the backside of the drum head to move the sound up and down with a backslide technique. You can also use wood or other rounded types of objects as a backslide tool.. The idea is to play just above or below the backslide pressure to raise or lower the tone. This increases the resonance. I would strongly recommend Meinl expanding the line and coming out with a 38 or 40 cm diameter bodhran in the same model style for people that want more of a full bass and more aggressive playing than just for the usual public sessions. I have a 40 cm bodhran from another leading German company and it adds a new dimension to playing to be able to access a real deep resonant bass sound.

Where do I even begin? I love this drum. My first bodhran was an 18 inch diameter, 3 inch deep frame, NON tunable drum and while it was a great beginner's bodhran, it was time to upgrade to a more modern style drum with more features. The Meinl 14 inch tunable bodhran with deep frame SO fits the bill. As any new natural drum skin would, this drum initially produced quite a tinny sound. The skin simply wasn't broken in or soft. But, with each day, the tone of the skin is improving. I had similar tone issues with my first drum. I did do a very mild skin treatment on the front outside of the drum head (I made sure the oil used did not come into contact with the black tape surrounding the drum skin) and it helped some. The biggest thing I love about this drum is that it is tunable. Seriously - takes 30 seconds and you're in business. Easy to tighten or loosen with the provided key. Also, the tonal variation that this specific model drum allows is just phenomenal. It can go from very high tones to very low tones with relative ease. The only "con" about this particular drum is that I feel like it is better suited to top end style playing. I initially learned everything I know in the Kerry Style as found on Michelle Stewart's Bodhran Expert channel on YouTube. It can be played using the Kerry Style, but as I started out on a much larger drum, I find there is a lot less surface area to work with which makes certain techniques a bit more difficult, though not impossible. As such, I'm trying to learn the top end playing style. Definitely a steep learning curve to learn a new playing style, though it is certainly not an insurmountable challenge. All in all, I really love this drum and for the price, would strongly recommend. Well done, Meinl on providing such a great instrument!

I love the sound the look. and the price. I was worried the allen wrench would be a pain to store, but it's suspended inside so it doesn't affect the sound or touch my hand or anything. It's very securely attached by Velcro. I was really pleased with that. The product details are misleading as the shell is plastic rather than wood, but it looks nice and still sounds fine. For the price, I love this drum. It's my first Bodhran. Super stoked.

Not bad for the price. Not made in China. Taiwan. There is a tin like sound. Even conditioned the out surface with a high quality leather conditioner I use on my $700 Bodhrans. It helped a bit. Great beginner drum. Holds a tuning pretty good.

This is the first deep bodhran I have bought. The overall build is very very good, I love the finish on the wood frame. As someone who has never played a bodhran without a bar in the back it was weird at first but I am getting used to it, can get an amazing range of sounds from this beauty. I already want top buy a 16" one now, totally hooked. Great purchase.

This makes for a great beginners bodhran, with an easy to manipulate head for pitch and good responsiveness on the stroke. Plus, the in person look of the piece is top notch. Definitely looks like it costs more than it does.

Excelente, sonido, muy dulce por su parche de piel, muy agradable de tocar, muy satisfecho con la compra. Muy contentó.

皮にもともと筋が入っています。 写真の通りですね。 バチを見つけるのに苦労しました。 バチの重さと音の感じが対応します。 後ろに支柱みたいなものが一切ないので手が引っかからず支えにくいのかなと思います。 比較的安価でビギナーに優しいです。 スネアケースに入れて持ち運んでいます。

Very nice bodhran well made lovely tone should get even better with age it’s a pity it didn’t have star bolts for hand tuning but it’s not a big deal as the Alan bolts are quite smooth and easily turned with the key supplied recommended 👍

love it

Zur Verarbeitung: Die Meinl-Bodhrán ist vom Stil her schon ein Profi-Stück. Kein Haltekreuz, gutes Fell (Ziege), tiefer Rahmen, stabiles Holz (Kautschukbaum) und die Möglichkeit, das Trommelfell mittels mitgeliefertem Imbusschlüssel (den man praktisch mittels Klettverschluss im Innern der Trommel verstauen kann) zu stimmen. Der Klang ist sauber und, wie es sich für eine Bodhrán gehört, dunkel, voll und dumpf. Durch die Stimm-Möglichkeit kann man den gewünschten Sound einstellen, von eher hell bis ganz dunkel und bassig. Das Tape am Rande des Fells dämpft unangenehme Obertöne. Die Verarbeitung des Rahmens ist hervorragend - keine Ecken und Kanten, die beim Spielen stören könnten. Fazit: Gute Verarbeitung, solides Stück. Mein persönlicher Eindruck: Die Trommel ist für ihren bassigen, vollen Klang sehr leicht (1,3 kg) und handlich (35 cm im Durchmesser). Das geringe Gewicht macht es möglich, die Bodhrán auch alternativ als Schamanentrommel" zu spielen, also im Stehen oder sogar tanzend (das fehlende Haltekreuz macht allerdings andere Grifftechniken nötig - ist aber nicht so schwer und stört weiter nicht). - Das alternartive Spiel empfiehlt sich allerdings nur für Leute, die eigentlich eine Bodhrán wollen, mit der man nebenher auch andere Spielweisen praktizieren kann ;-) . Wer nur eine Schamanentrommel will, ist mit Rahmentrommeln mit Haltevorrichtung besser bedient. Für das typische Bodhránspiel mit Tipper und Gegenhalten der anderen Hand am Fell, um Dämpfungen und Tonhöhenvariationen zu ermöglichen, ist die Bodhrán allerdings super. Das Fehlen des Kreuzes ermöglicht vollkommene Spielfreiheit, und es ist eine wahre Freude, alle möglichen Schlagtechniken mit dieser Trommel auszuprobieren. Nachhaltigkeit und Fairtrade: Laut Hersteller Meinl wurde diese Trommel wie viele Instrumente der Firma in Thailand gefertigt. Da Meinl allerdings Mitglied der FSC (Forest Stewardship Council) ist, nehme ich an, dass auch die dortigen Arbeitsbedingungen halbwegs stimmen (hoffe ich zumindest). Mein Fazit: Ich habe mich in die Meinl-Bodhrán, ihre Leichtigkeit und ihren schönen dunklen Sound verliebt. Und ich kann das gute Stück nur empfehlen für Leute, die eine gute Bodhrán wollen und keine große Geldbörse haben, um sich ein teures Profi-Teil von hiesigen Bodhrán-Herstellern zu leisten, sich allerdings auch nicht mehr mit billigen unstimmbaren Touristenbodhráns abgeben wollen, deren Sound meist zu wünschen übrig lässt. Daher: ganze 5 Punkte!